College Corner
By Carl Lukat
Athlete of the Year
Senior baseball standout Nick von Gersdorff was named Longwood University's Male Athlete of the Year during an awards banquet April 21.
Longwood, in Farmville, is nearing completion of its first year as an official Division I member.
At the time of the banquet, von Gersdorff, a first baseman/right fielder, was batting .305 and led the team in RBIs (34), triples (two), stolen base percentage (1.000) and multi-RBI games (nine).
Von Gersdorff, a Loudoun Valley High School graduate, has started 136 of 167 career games at Longwood with a .275 career batting average, including eight home runs and 72 RBIs.
An inductee into the Longwood University College of Business and Economics Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the nation’s most prestigious business school accrediting agency, von Gersdorff also was awarded the Male Henry I. Willett Scholar-Athlete Award.
He will graduate in May with a bachelor of science in business administration.
Petrella one of CAC's best
Mary Washington sophomore shortstop Kaitlin Petrella recently was selected to the All-Capital Athletic Conference First Team in softball.
Petrella, a 2006 Heritage High School graduate, hit .387 while setting a school record with eight home runs and 31 RBIs.
Petrella also slugged .745 and scored 20 runs. She holds the school record for career homers with 13.
Petrella, the daughter of Heritage athletic director Ron Petrella, was one of four Eagles to be named to the All-CAC team.
Pitcock's special week
Shepherd University freshman Nichole Pitcock was named West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week April 15 for her standout performance the previous week.
Pitcock, a Park View High School graduate, allowed one earned run and struck out eight batters in wins against Alderson-Broaddus, Bluefield State and Concord.